In fairy tales of old – like Hansel and Gretel and Cinderella – violence and sacrifice were central to the plot. In the most shocking revelation of how modern society has reworked a traditional fairy tale, Cinderella’s stepsisters do not press their feet into a glass slipper that is too tight; they chopped off parts of their own feet and shoved them into the shoe in their desperation to win over the prince.

Gruesome. Thankfully, most of the books I read to my toddler fulfill the aspirations of a caring society: sharing, love, family. There isn’t a single hatchet or burning woodpile within them.

But, not all our favorite books promote good values. Many of the most popular picture books promote questionable paths where accumulating wealth, dressing more attractively and stealing are the routes to a satisfied life. Of course, some of these are also very, very funny.

A recent article in the Guardian article highlighted several bestselling children’s books that promote materialistic values. Drawing from a University of Vermont study, Alison Flood wrote, “Veruca Salt, the ultimate consumer, might have been given her comeuppance by Roald Dahl in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory back in 1964, but many of the children’s books of today are continually reinforcing materialistic behaviour.”

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I love the mole book LOVE IT! We have a German original and it is great fun and teaches kids about poo without the smell 😉

Beth

I can’t stand “Rainbow Fish”. That poor fish is expected to give away HIS scales if he wants friends. Great lesson to teach: “To make friends, you must give people presents”. No thanks.

Stacie Lewis

So many people mentioned this book, I included it above along with your comment, Beth! Thanks for the contribution.

Kristen

We have Curious George Visits The Zoo. I don’t mind the part about taking a monkey to the zoo, but there is a picture of a man smoking in the book!!!

Adrianne

Completely agree with Beth! I HATE “Rainbow Fish” … All the other fish were jealous of the pretty fish with pretty scales, so the pretty fish gives away 1 of his scales until he’s left with 1 or none, but at least now the other fish aren’t jealous … HATE! So much for being happy with what you’ve got, etc., etc.

Adrianne

Mamato6

Oh, I can’t stand pinkalicious. Ugh!

Jeanine

I agree with all but the Curious George book. We have that one and its more about not feeding animals the wrong food then the fact that he brought a monkey to a zoo.

We also must remember that kids don’t always get the same message from books that we adults get.

shirley

That’s exactly what I’ve always said about “Rainbow Fish”! Let’s teach our children that you can buy friendship, what a GREAT idea.

I also don’t like the original Curious George story – because when George plays with the telephone and accidentally calls the fire department, the police come and ARREST HIM. Poor little George, who didn’t ask to be stolen from the jungle and brought to live in a big scary city. And when he finds something fun to play with, the authorities get angry and don’t even care that they’re dealing with a frightened creature in an unfamiliar environment. They arrest him. AARGH.

And don’t get me started on “The Giving Tree.”

Stacie Lewis

I completely forgot the plot of the original Curious George! Poor George! He can’t catch a break.

Anon

It’s less of a book and more of a fairy-tale, but I hate Jack and the Beanstalk. Jack disobeys his mother by trading the family’s cow for a handful of beans, trespasses, and steals from the Giant, and the Giant is the bad guy for chasing him? Sneak into my castle and run off with my goose and I’m going to chase you, too!

I also read a version of Goldilocks that ends with Goldilocks never going into the forest again. As I see it, the problem wasn’t that she went into the forest. There’s nothing wrong with a little hike through the woods! Her mistake was going into someone else’s house uninvited and just making herself at home. Shouldn’t it end with her promising to never be a squatter again?

Shannon

One the children’s lit classes I took during my teacher prep had a whole lesson where we looked at beloved children’s books and looked for different messages that the book was conveying. The Giving Tree was one of the books, another one was I Love You Forever. (Ironically both of which I received as shower gifts when I was pregnant with my first) I’m not a fan of I Love You Forever. It goes from sweet with the newborn babe, toddler, and child to creepy with an adult mother sneaking into her teenage and then adult son’s bedroom (c’mon she drives to her son’s house with a ladder and climbs into his bedroom– cut the cord and let him grow up). The book does redeem itself at the end but the creepy middle is hard for me to get over.

http://theadventurousmama.blogspot.com Milania’s Mommy

Never read square cat but it sounds like the story of my life. At least in high school. I don’t want my daughter being like the girl I was in high school. I actually happened to love Rainbow Fish as a kid, but only because it was pretty. I’m not too fond of Fox In Socks By Dr. Seuss not because the moral of the story is bad or anything in fact I don’t know that there is a moral it’s just hard as heck to read with all that darn rhyming. I also think I Will Love You Forever is a little creepy personally. And I’m in awe that The House That Crack Built is a real book, who wrote it Snoop Dogg?

M

LOL. My kids have a few of these in their library.

Momof2

Oh my goodness the giving tree is so lovely or so I thought as a child. I barely made it thru one reading with my kids without crying my eyes out. It’s awful & sweet all at once but we’ve never read it again.

Anne

The mole is awesome. The artwork is beautiful. It satisfies kids curiosity. It teaches kids that poop is normal and in my experience, the more you treat poop as normal,the less fun it is for kids to drive you nuts with it! My neighbor had a pop-up version of it!
The only thing questionable without the mole is the fact that he takes revenge on the poor dog.

Stacie Lewis

Love the idea of a pop-up version of this book! What about a scratch and sniff – hehehe (sorry, I’m very juvenile)

Lynn

Several people have over the years to given us “I Love You Forever” and I couldn’t bring myself to donate them because stalking anyone, even your own child is creepy. Climbing into your adult son’s bedroom window to rock him — beyond creepy!

Another one that bothers me is “Stellaluna”. You can be a part of our family only if you eat what we eat and don’t hang upside down? You can be in our family only if you become completely like us? Not exactly the message an adopted child needs to hear.

jenw

Ha! I recently read The Giving Tree to our 3.5yo. He really seemed to get the enduring friendship part of the story. And we read Rainbow Fish but I vacillate on whether I like the “don’t be an obnoxious showoff always saying you’re the best” message or dislike the “presents will get people to forgive your obnoxious behavior” message. Mostly I like the pictures so it stays on the shelf.

Totally agree about Jack and the Beanstalk…the approving mother as he comes down with the giant’s stuff gets me every time. We still read it and talk about what bad choices Jack makes and how it’s bad to take things without asking.

koolchicken

In The Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak. I always thought that one was weird. I’m not opposed to the nudity, kids don’t care. But just the whole thing just feels like the nightmares of a child that’s been molested.

I also don’t like The Cat And The Hat. The whole notion of the children left home alone, letting in a stranger, and then the cat cleaning everything up and taking off like nothing happened. As a kid I was disturbed by the notion of disobeying what are obvious house rules. I was more in line with the fishes thought process. As an adult, I find it so much more sinister than breaking a few rules.

Blueonetoo

How could anyone think The Giving Tree is extolling the benefits of Capitalism? It’s completely the opposite. The morale of the story is that it is better to give than receive. The Boy is always searching for meaning and thinks that by having more things, he will be happy… but he never is. The Tree does nothing but wait and give whatever she can of herself to the Boy, and finds immense joy in doing so. This is also the story of simple pleasures and the reminder that sitting quietly in nature, whether young or old, is a peaceful place to be. It a reminder to slow down and not let life/materialism/greed get in the way of peace. I love this book and its message.

Stacie Lewis

All true, unless you look at it from the other character’s perspective. He takes and takes and… you get the point. Still, I admit I love Shel Silverstein so I can’t hate this book exactly.

http://theadventurousmama.blogspot.com Milania’s Mommy

I’m with Koolchicken on the Cat and the Hat the kids look no older than 10 what responsible parent leaves their young kids alone in the house all day and then they let strangers in to play and it questions whether you should tell truth to your parents. On a side note my grandmother came over today and brought my daughter a book of nursery rhymes that after reading them and actually thinking about it they portray very frightening pictures for a child Jack and Jill for instance he falls down and breaks his crown and she comes tumbling down too because they went to fetch a pail of water, that would really make me consider getting my water another way, it’s just stupid.

http://www.brigidkeely.com/baby Brigid Keely

I’ve always hated “the Giving Tree.” Even as a kid, I felt it placed unrealistic expectations on parents, especially moms, to the point where they are expected to sacrifice everything about themselves including, ultimately, their lives for their kids. I mean, the tree gives the kid everything the tree has, finally giving up its LIFE so the kid has a comfy place to sit down. The tree sacrifices EVERYTHING for a kid who just keeps asking for more and more and more. It’s always felt sick and dark to me, I’ve never understood why people loved it.

Maya

Since when do we need to only read books that portray actions or a “moral” that are instructive or exactly what we want our children to see? Books are supposed to provoke thought, imagination, and conversation! I love older books because they DO portray ambiguous messages, allowing kids to start to grapple with the complexity of life. I found the Giving Tree a little sad and disturbing too, and I think that’s just fine!

I may stay away from The House that Crack Built, though. 😉

Stacie Lewis

Good point about not having to read books for their moral. I agree really. There is nothing wrong with the pleasure of reading an amusing book with your kid.

Also, in regards to The House that Crack Built, the think the authors intended it to help children who have experienced such a situation. But, I think in this case they may have been a bit misguided – especially with the illustrations.

Melissa

I love The Giving Tree and Pinkalicious. The Giving Tree is a story about love and sacrifice. It reminds me of my mom- she used to read it to us all the time as kids. I do agree with others that if Pinkalicious were my child, I would probably kill her. That being said, I love the idea at the end taht we need to be happy with who we are. She realizes that she’s beautiful just the way she is. I like that message. Purplicious gives the same message at the end as well. As for the other books on the list, I don’t really care. For those who have mentioned I’ll Love You Forever- I’ve never liked that one either. I purposely didn’t register for it, and I got it anyway. It’s weird.

Stacie Lewis

I probably should have added I’ll Love You Forever to the list, so many people have mentioned it! But, alas… it’s too late now.

Liz

Thank you, Maya! Exactly what I was going to say in response to this article. I’m having a hard time believing this is a serious post! While I haven’t read all of the books on the list, many of the older ones, such as Curious George, The Giving Tree, and Peter Rabbit are classics! I loved these books as a kid. Our baby’s nursery even has a Peter Rabbit theme to it Such beautiful illustrations in Beatrix Potters’ books.

Julie

Might I point out that sometimes the moral is in more than just the book? When I was a kid, (some) of those books were used as examples of what NOT to do, with my mother talking to me afterwards about why it’s bad. Isn’t that what story time is about? Certainly when my son gets old enough for picture books with words (right now we’re working on pure pictures with me pointing out and pronouncing objects for him) I will certainly be using some of these books as tools to tell him what not to do in life.
Also with others (The Giving Tree is the first that pops to mind) I think the writer of this article missed the point entirely. Yes it’s a sad book and the boy seems to be very greedy, but that tree loves him unconditionally and that I think is the real point of the story.
Books are SUPPOSED to challenge us and make us think about things in a different way. Google has enabled us to tailor our information and ignore things that don’t agree with our specific view points but that doesn’t mean that’s a good way to live in a society as diverse as the United States is. Let the kids think a little bit! Maybe they’ll learn something.

Stacie Lewis

Excellent point Julie about the books teaching children what not to do, or at least opening up the discussion. I agree! And, in my defence, I’ll add that the debate about The Giving Tree is a pretty common one. In the case of that particular book, my intention was to explain both sides as succinctly as possible without taking either side.

Kallie

I seriously cannot believe that Rainbow Fish is on this list.

I think the lesson is a great one about sharing and being a giving person. That it is more beautiful to share what one has, especially if those things mean a lot to you, to show you care about others. I was always taught growing up that when one shares, there should be an element or feeling of self sacrifice or it is less meaningful.

Anon

I agree with the comments concerning Cat In The Hat. My daughter loves that book, but when I read it, I make a point of talking about how the fish is right. You should not be letting strangers in the house when your mother is out!

In general, I find myself reading books that give us something to discuss. I’m always asking my children, “Is that GOOD behavior or BAD behavior?” and “What should Jack have done instead?” They love that, and the point of literature is to make you think–at least that is how I see it.

-alex

Can we add “Guess How Much I Love You” to the list? Big Nutbrown Hare always has to outdo everything Little Nutbrown Hare does. What happened to just accepting someone’s statement of love and reciprocating without competing?

I also agree with Rainbow Fish. It always bothered me that he had to sacrifice what made him unique to make friends. And don’t get me started on The Giving Tree. Ugh.

Sarah

Having first picked up The House That Crack Built as a teenager browsing in a Boston bookstore and having been so moved that I sat down to read it multiple times before buying it, I have to say that its inclusion here (though I know it was meant to be humorous) is kind of misleading — it is DEFINITELY a book meant for grown-ups (or at least teens) and is by no means a children’s book. Though I bought it in Boston, I was born and raised in DC….at the height of the crack epidemic….and it speaks volumes in amazing illustrations and even in the poem/story about what that reality is like.

Stacie Lewis

Fair enough! And I think I said something regarding the author’s intention to another reader, and while I disagree with the execution of the book it’s good to hear someone else’s perspective.

Megan

lol you should do one on the disney princess movies, if you actually look into it all of them are bad influences on girls and boys, especially beauty and the beast….

http://99mhzv Maureen

I too hate Love You Forever. I mean really, he’s married, let go mom!

Diana

This is the has got to be the stupidest _______ I’ve ever read in my entire life. Babycenter, you should be ashamed of yourselves. If a kid enjoys a book being read to them, they’re more likely to want to read it themselves. So ____________ what?!? This infuriates me. Books don’t make kids bad, bad parents do. If one book ruins everything you’ve taught your child, you’re a __________ failure anyway. Get your heads out of your _________!!! Ugh!! Utter trash this is!!! (This comment was edited for obscene content by me, Stacie Lewis.)

Stacie Lewis

I would assume the editors will delete this for offensive content, but before they do allow me to say that, in between swearing, you have completely missed the point. In any case, it is very difficult for anyone, me or readers, to take a person seriously about being offended when they themselves are so offensive.

Lynn M

Wow, I’m amazed by the many different views on the same books. It’s funny to see how differently the messages from these books are received. Life expierences maybe influences the message? For instance, someone mentioned “Guess how much I Love You” and how they saw it as Big Nutbrown Hare trying to one up Little Nutbrown Hare. For me the book reminds me of a game my brothers and I would play with my parents, “I love you more than ….” sweet, loving memories for me

Danny’s Momma

My son has a book called “Walter The Farting Dog: Trouble at the Yard Sale”. Apparently there are other Walter the Farting Dog books in the series, but I haven’t found them yet. It’s about a dog who farts a lot and his family doesn’t like it so the father ends up selling him at a yardsale. The man who buys Walter is a bank robber who dresses as a clown as a disguise. He hooks Walter up to this machine that uses Walter’s farts to inflate balloons and force feeds him beans. He then takes the fart filled balloons and puts on his clown suit and goes to the bank. He pops the balloons so that the fart gas chokes everyone so he can steal the money.

At the end of the book Walter is reunited with his family (the kids were devastated when they found out their dad sold him).

Ridiculous? Yes. Does the book have a good moral? Probably not. Gross? Definitely. But the giggles it coerced out of my son was totally worth the $2 I spent on it and it hasn’t caused him any mental issues.

sharitaW

I work in a bookstore and that mole book is sold a lot! Also, I remember that fish book from Kindergarten, but I don’t recall anything about buying friends. I think kids definitely see things in a other light than adults do.

Janet

We have many of these books. Giving Tree and Cat in the Hat were two of my favorites growing up and they are two of my son’s as well. I also got “I Want my Hat Back” after precisely reading on Amazon that it is controversial. My son loves it. We have the bath time version of Rainbow Fish. I never thought too much about that one-just that it promoted sharing etc. In the Night Kitchen is about the holocaust-not getting molested. We like that one too. As the posting says, these are all walks in the park compared to original fairy tales.

Josie

Kids book people…these are kids books. Give me a break. If you don’t want your kid to go poo on someone’s head, tell them it is wrong. Everyone is responsible for their own child, no one else.

http://expatcatlife.blogspot.com Jules

Honestly? I think most people are reading a bit too much into these books. I never saw The Giving Tree, for instance, the way it’s described here. But more to the point, even if I did, I’d still let my kid read it (or read it to him, if he wants): the point of reading, after all, is to get grist for the idea mill, and there’s nothing wrong with learning how to argue a point persuasively. Suffice it to say that your kid isn’t getting political discourse or feminist theory from books, but from what you say or do around him.

pg

I’m not afraid of my son seeing something a bit objectionable so most of these don’t bother me. The Giving Tree is a different story. It’s a beautiful story that, when I was a selfish little boy, moved me to tears and made me appreciate the people around me. I can’t believe you’d put it on a list like this.

Diana

I personally couldn’t care less wether you take me seriously or not. It’s hard to find any ______ to give when the person who doesn’t take you seriously has their head so far gone up their own _____ they can’t see the light of day any longer. This article is garbage and your insights on parenting are garbage. My daughter is in 1st grade and reads at 4th grade reading level because I read to her every single day until she started repeating along with me at 2 because she knew the books by heart, she enjoyed them and does to this day, which led to sounding out the words to those favorite books which led to reading on her own. She loves and devours books because I read to her anything and everything. Your opinion is ________ utter garbage. (This comment was edited for obscene content by me, Stacie Lewis.)

Stacie Lewis

I’m not sure what kind of response you expect to get from me. This is a light-hearted post not a directive for your life. Take a deep breath and stop swearing at me.

I think some of you assume I’m not a real person. Here’s my web site. Read a bit about me: http://www.mamalewis.com. Or, just go back to insulting me anonymously.

Roogirl

^^ yikes ^^

Melissa

I have heard a million times how “I’ll Love You Forever” is creepy, and if you take it literally, it is. But since when are books (or stories in general, poems, songs, etc. for that matter) only to be taken literally? The message in the book is, no matter how old you are, you will always be my baby and I’ll always love you. It’s as simple as that. And I believe the message of “The Giving Tree” is that behaving the way the child did and only taking from someone who loves you is fairly obviously NOT the appropriate way to behave.

http://4g5wgh Sara

Would somebody please get Diana a cookie? Or something? That’s a lot of hatred for one little blog post. Yikes is right!

momoftwo

The only thing I didn’t like about Pinkalicious is that when they talk about the green food, they use words like “yucky green pickles” and describe the green food as otherwise disgusting. My children like green food, but I hated it as a kid. I used to hide peas and broccoli and anything else green in my napkin. I don’t want my children to think that green food is gross! I don’t want my kids to be as picky as I was and so far they aren’t. But when I read Pinkalicious to them, I omit the negative words defining the green food!

Bee

I think this list is a bunch of uptight bullcrap- seriously. Many of these books that you think will have an adverse impact on a child’s development and sense of right and wrong have zero effect- they’re books that I read as a child. The only thing that stood out to me about Rainbow Fish as a child was the beautiful color in the illustrations. I’m sorry, but this list represents everything I DON’T want to be as a mom- an overbearing, overanalytical nazi who reads way too much into things and messes their kid up by spending too much time obsessing over keeping them away from the things that could potentially mess them up.

Kristina

Did Shel Silverstein ever speak or write about what message he was trying to get across in The Giving Tree? My daughter has that book, but we don’t really read it much. Maybe when she is older and we can discuss it. Honestly I would like to know if his viewpoint of the tree is that the tree did this great self sacrificial thing and was the embodiment of unconditional love and therefore should be emulated OR if he thought the tree gave up too much. My problem is that the tree’s unconditional love and continual self sacrifice didn’t seem to do much to make the boy/man a better person. This makes it hard for me to hold it up as a model on how to be a good parent. I once did a lesson on all the issues of this book with a coteacher and fifth grade students. Interesting stuff.

Rainbow Fish has bothered me at times. I agree with whatever poster (can’t seem to find it now) who is torn by the good message and the bad message for that book.

Also – the girl in Pinkalicious can be a brat in that book and I cringe when she complains about the gross green food too. Yet, my girls definitely enjoy that one.

My bottom line is that you have to discuss the issues in books with the kids.

Lori M.

How about the No David books? If that was my kid, he wouldn’t be able to sit for a week. And of course they were my son’s favrite books when he was little (oddly enough he loved Pinkalicious too!)

My 2nd grader brought a book home from the school library once and it was about some animal friends who went to school together and there was a part where they find a pack of cigarettes and proceed to smoke the whole pack until they get sick. I had to send a note to the teacher to get the book taken out of rotation. I’m no prude but I found that a bit odd for 7 & 8 year olds. It was pretty outdated.

Beth

“I Want My Hat Back” is a book our whole family loves – we think it’s hilarious! Anyway, is that not what bears do – eat rabbits? As for “Pinkalicious”, there’s a message in every story I’ve read about her, and my girls love her. Yes, she behaves badly, but she learns a lesson in the end, and it’s one that’s applicable to any child. We loved “Love You Forever”, too. It’s my opinion that you just can’t apply adult logic to children’s books. They’re not made for you, so why would you expect to enjoy them as much as your kids would? And, Diana? Take a pill. Or several.

AS

YIKES! Let’s hope Diana never writes a children’s picture book, it would surely make the list.

I have to completely agree about “Guess How Much I Love You”. Ugh, the father is uber-creepy and one-uppy to me in it. It is my most hated book that I have received for my child.

I’ll Love You Forever I think was written with overbearing parents as the target audience, I don’t really think many kids would enjoy it would they?

I was always creeped out by the Cat in the Hat too.

Constance

I totally agree about the Giving Tree. It’s not about giving, it’s about taking, taking, taking….until there’s nothing left. Trying to romanticize our dysfunctional relationship to the earth? gives me the creeps.
I have to say I love The Story of the Little Mole. We have the German version. The art is hysterical. And it’s so weird, it’s great.
thanks for the fun article!

Emily

It’s ok not to like some books. It’s ok for other people to like the books that you don’t like. That’s the beauty of living in a free country. I’m a children’s librarian and we were all laughing at your list. (in a good way! It’s great!) We have all of those books available for anyone who wants to read them! And if you don’t, well, leave them on the shelf! (personally I can’t stand The Giving Tree! But I LOVE I Want my Hat Back!)

Laura

I do have to kind of laugh at the people who are saying things like “it’s just children’s books! Don’t take them so seriously!” and such. This is just a blog with peoples opinions. Everyone has different opinions and can express them. And the fact is, every parent has that one thing that they don’t want their kid around – whether it be a certain show (I won’t do yo gabba gabba. Just can’t do it) or a message in a book, or a video. It’s not a big deal.

I, for the record, love I’ll love you forever. I can certainly see how it can be creepy, but for me, it’s more about the message. My sons, even when married, will still be my baby. Will I climb into their houses at night? No. But I’ll still love them just as much as I did on the day they were born.

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